Twisting the Truth
by leader of lights
Summary: Liberating Pokémon was what N set out to do. Touya thought that idea wasn't so bad after all - and maybe N could set him free, too.
1. Prologue

**Twisting the Truth** - _Prologue_

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><p>The blocky train raced around the colorful track. N watched it with happy eyes, adding a "Woo woo!" sound for the whistle as it went by him. He was lying on his belly on the cloudy blue floor, right next to the track. When he reached out and pulled a bright red section of the track out, the train didn't stop. It just went backwards, then forwards, then backwards again, avoiding the missing piece. N laughed at the silly train.<p>

He got bored of watching fast. He frowned at the trainset, then rolled his tiny body over to lie on his back. There was a blue sky under him, but a dark and starry sky up above. Sometimes he stared at the stars. Sometimes he tried to count them. This time, he just looked. They were large and yellow and spiky, and they made him sleepy. Anthea always carried him out when he fell asleep. Thinking of her warm arms made his eyelids heavy.

"N," said a voice, heavy and deep. His father's voice. N sat up, rubbed his eyes with his little fists, and opened them tiredly. Ghetsis stood in the doorway of his playroom, all violet robes and mint green hair. Concordia was beside him, a black bundle in her arms. They towered over him, like his basketball hoop did.

"Hi, Connie. Hi, Dad," N replied, offering Ghetsis a sleepy smile. He kept looking at his long hair. N's hair was just like it. The shared their hair and their faces. At least, that's what Concordia told him. _'You'll look just like your father when you grow up.' _Every time she said that, she frowned.

Ghetsis gave him a sharp look, the kind that made it feel like he was poking holes in N's heart. His disappointed look. "Do not call me that. I am Ghetsis. Not... that."

N picked at the carpet. When he was tired, it was hard to remember all of his father's rules. His face felt hot as he said, "Yes, Ghetsis."

The violet robes swished in the air, and N lifted his head. Ghetsis had turned to Concordia. "Show him," he instructed her. Her blonde pinwheel hair moved with her nod.

Concordia stepped closer to N. She gave the bundle in her arms a sad look. He realized that it was furry and breathing. "N, we've brought you another Pokémon friend," she told him, her voice rich like honey. Concordia held out the Pokémon for him to take, and he saw one of its teal eyes peering back at him. "One who was mistreated by its owner."

Nervously, N stood up and reached out. His hands were shaking. Concordia passed the Pokémon into his arms and it layed limply against his chest. It wasn't very big, but it still filled his arms. He petted its dark gray fur gently, until his small hand felt wet. The Pokémon was bleeding. N's eyes widened. "Why is it hurt?" he asked them, voice cracking. The other friends had been hurt, too, but not like this.

Ghetsis stared at him, eyes the color of the blood on N's hand. They dug into him, forcing him to pay attention. "Because its owner abused it," he explained. "All Pokemon kept by people are being tortured. They are called into battles they can't win, and they are hurt by other people's Pokémon. They are used as tools."

Concordia knelt down next to N. Her long braid curled on the floor by her feet. "Its name is Zorua," she said softly, petting the fox Pokémon on its head, on the red-tipped tuft of fur. "It can transform into other Pokémon." It growled weakly.

N recognized the look it gave him: suspicion. Zorua was suspicious of him, because he was a human, too. It thought it would be hurt again. That hurt N, because Pokémon were his friends. They were his only friends, and he would never abuse them. "Why don't they care about the Pokémon?"

"Because people are selfish," Ghetsis boomed. "They control Pokémon, not treat them like friends. They are not like you, N."

The Zorua shuddered in N's arms. It tried to growl again, but only sounded like it was crying. N felt like his heart was being squeezed. He swallowed painfully. "Like me?"

Concordia smiled. "You are special." She lifted her hand off Zorua and stood up. She wasn't scary when she stood over him, like Ghetsis was. Her soft white dress and pretty face made her look like an angel. He wanted to cling to her and have her make him feel better, but he had to be strong for Zorua.

"But why am I special?" he asked.

Ghetsis moved closer. N took a small step back. "You have the power to change the world," Ghetsis explained to him. "You can keep people from hurting Pokémon. You can make them free. You'll be... a hero." He raised his arms into the air and spread them wide, like he was waiting for a hug. But he didn't like it when N touched him, so N didn't understand why.

"A hero?" N repeated. He ran his hand over Zorua's soft fur. He could save his friends, and all the Pokémon in the world. He could do it, all by himself, and Pokémon wouldn't hurt anymore. Both Concordia and his father believed in him. "How can I do that?"

Suddenly, Ghetsis was smiling at him. He never smiled at N. It wasn't sweet like Concordia's, but it was still a smile. It made N so happy. "If you work hard, it will be easy. You simply have to become the new hero of Unova, and befriend the legendary dragon, as the king of..."

Zorua adjusted itself, pressing its tiny, warm body against N's thin arms. Ghetsis kept talking, but N forgot to listen. He looked down at it, fighting the tears filling his eyes. He had to be strong for Zorua. For all Pokémon. He held Zorua closer, wanting to protect it from everything. The blood on N's hand smeared on its fur. "I won't let them hurt you any more," he whispered, cradling the abused Zorua in the center of his brightly colored playroom. "I won't let them hurt you ever again."

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> This is the beginning of a new fanfic I'm working on, titled 'Twisting the Truth'. That title came from the song '405' by Death Cab For Cutie. It's N/Touya, and the basic idea is this: "What if everything was... _different?_" It's not very 'different' or shippy yet, obviously, but it will be. This is only the prologue, so bear with me, haha.

Playlist for Writing this Chapter: N's Room Theme [Pokémon Black & White OST]


	2. Chapter One

**Twisting the Truth** - _Chapter One_

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><p>There wasn't a morning that Touya didn't think of him, even when that morning started his Pokémon journey. His face appeared in the corner of his mind, seizing control for the first few minutes he was awake. Five months ago, he left, but Touya couldn't forget that easily. His body left the house, but his memory didn't.<p>

By the time he reached Accumula Town, the memory was gone for the day. Excitement curled Touya's fingers and toes. He already had his first Pokémon. He was already a route away from home. His friends Bianca and Cheren were beside him, just as blown away as he was.

"Accumula Town~" Bianca sang, twirling around with her hands outstretched. At the end of her twirl she teetered on one foot and her hat fell off. "Eep! My hat!" she squeaked, patting her poofy blond hair where her hat had been. It curled out from her head like the ends of a football.

Cheren sighed. "Really, Bianca. Just calm down." He bent over to pick up her hat, the dark hair at the sides of his face falling forward to hide his secretive smile. That smile disappeared when he handed the hat over, but Touya knew what he'd seen. "We're all just starting out. If you're already this energetic-"

"C'mon, Cheren," Touya cut in, slipping his arm around his friend's narrow shoulders. "We're just starting out, like you said. Lighten up." With his other hand, he reached up and poked the determined cowlick on Cheren's head.

"I am lightened up," Cheren huffed, staring at the concrete beneath his slip-on shoes. He wiggled out from under Touya's arm and slid his hands into the pockets of his blazer. "I just don't want to have to worry about Bianca when she's out of my sight."

Right on cue, Bianca screamed. "Too late," said Touya.

Alarmed, Cheren looked up and ran in the direction of the scream. About ten feet away, Bianca was struggling to get up from where she'd fallen on the sidewalk. "Bianca, I told you to calm down!" He offered her his hand.

"I only tripped," she explained, sticking her tongue out teasingly. She took his hand and bounced right back to her feet. This time, she picked up her hat and plopped it back on her head.

"Well, next time you might trip down a flight of stairs. What then?"

Touya was busy being distracted by how tall the three-story buildings were. He was used to the smaller, two-story homes of their hometown, Nuvema. "How about we go explore?" he suggested to his friends, giving them a bright smile. That was usually enough to make Cheren shut up for a bit. It worked.

Bianca returned the smile and clapped her hands together. "Oooh, can we go to the park? I heard it's really big!"

"Sure, we can start there. I'll race you!" Touya challenged, gripping the strap of his messenger bag securely.

"You won't win!" Bianca set both hands on the rim of her hat and took off down the street. Touya followed her eagerly, and Cheren collected himself just in time to take up the rear.

"Stop running!" he cried from third place. Neither Bianca nor Touya bothered to listen.

They twined through and around Accumula's tall brick buildings and cheerful citizens. Touya passed Bianca around the second corner, but Cheren found a shortcut through an alley and beat them both in the end. They found him leaning against one of the park's border trees, a satisfied smirk on his face. Bianca and Touya were gasping for breath, but Cheren looked ready to run another race through town. Bianca called him a cheater and punched him on the arm.

A moment later, they all passed through the trees together. The only way they could've gotten closer was by holding hands. They had known one another since before they were potty-trained. Cheren, to the left, was the serious one with the strange fashion sense. He was always tightly strung, but his pants were even tighter. Bianca, to the right, was so scatterbrained that she often walked into the wrong house. She dressed like her mother did, in long skirts and sweaters.

Touya was in the middle. He was the glue in their friendship. He kept Cheren and Bianca from fighting, often through distraction tactics. When they got caught up in their own worlds, he could see clearly enough to pull them out. They knew about his problems, and they could help him smile again. His hair was brown, chocolate brown, just like his eyes. It was long, almost to his shoulders, and preferred to stick out in every direction but straight down. The hat he wore only kept it from sticking straight up. He wore mostly black besides his blue jacket and orange sneakers - black made him feel comfortable.

For now, they were all together, starting their journey with each others' support. Touya wouldn't have it any other way.

"Come check out Team Plasma's speech!" announced a woman standing directly inside the park. She waved a handful of flyers in the air, her suit of armor clanking every time she moved. "Find out how you, too, can make Pokémon free!"

The three friends stopped and looked at one another. Cheren was the first to speak. "Team Plasma?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Like Team Rocket in the Kanto region?"

Bianca grinned at the woman. "Are you having some kind of Renaissance Festival?"

"No, and no." The woman scowled at both of them. "Team Rocket was a bunch of criminals. We're the good guys. And we're not having a festival." She shoved a flyer into each of their hands. "We are Team Plasma, and one of our Seven Sages is giving a speech here today."

Touya skimmed over the flyer. "A speech about what?" he asked, staring at the lightning-streaked shield that covered the upper half. Most of the font was too small to read without stealing Cheren's glasses.

"Go and find out for yourself," she said cryptically. When an old man hobbled by, she immediately turned and forced a flyer and her attention on him.

"Why not just tell us?" Cheren insisted.

The woman glared at him over her shoulder. "Because I don't know, okay? I'm the lowest of the low in rank, and they don't tell me anything. Now, go be a good boy and listen to our sage's words of wisdom, m'kay?"

The color of Cheren's face shifted from sandy white to light pink to scarlet, and Touya knew it was time to go. "C'mon, let's just go catch a few of these words of wisdom," he suggested, latching onto Cheren's arm. He managed to pull his friend away seconds before he went into attack mode. Bianca followed along cheerfully, paying more attention to the grass crucnching under her feet.

The plants only got bigger the farther they went into the park. So did the number of people dressed as knights. They seemed to be everywhere, which added to Bianca's suspicion that it was a Renaissance Festival after all. "I wish I'd known about this," she whined, puffing out her cheeks like a Quilfish. "I would've dressed like a princess."

At the center they found the highest concentration of Team Plasma members. A tall, green-haired man at the front was raving to anyone that passed by or decided to stick around. He emanated confidence, both in his powerful stride and booming voice. Instead of armor, he wore flowing violet robes.

"Each day, each hour, and each minute that passes by, another Pokémon is being abused."

One of his followers stepped forward. In her arms, a bruised Patrat gave the crowd a fearful look. When it met eyes with Touya, he felt his heart stop.

"By capturing and _'befriending'_ Pokémon," the sage continued, spitting the word 'befriending', "You are all only continuing the cycle of pain and sadness."

Touya couldn't look away from the Patrat. His feet went cold, and the world began to lose its color.

"Pokémon are not meant to be..."

His hearing faded, too. It had been five months, five long months, but that man's voice was still fresh and screaming in his mind-

A cool hand rested on his cheek. Bianca stood in front of him, looking concerned. "Touya? Are you okay? The speech is over."

Touya blinked. The sounds of Pidoves filled his ears, and brushstrokes of greens and reds and yellows filled in the park's trees and plants. The green-haired speaker was gone, and the knights were marching out after him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told Bianca. "Totally fine. I just spaced out for a moment." He even managed to paste a crooked smile on his lips. He wasn't sure how long that 'moment' was, but it couldn't have been _too_ long.

Bianca put her hands together in front of her heart and nodded. "Good! You made me worry a little. I guess I was just overreacting." Cheren didn't look as convinced, but he folded his arms and kept quiet.

"This park feels a lot like home, doesn't it?" Touya peered around at the dirt paths and colorful plants. "All the tall buildings are so... different."

Bianca tilted her head to the side and tapped her lips with her finger. "Yes, but wasn't that speech weird? I've never heard of someone abusing a Pokémon before."

"Sure, yeah," he quickly replied, eager to change the subject. "Let's go look around town!"

"Are you sure you're all right?" Always the skeptic, Cheren was making himself Touya's last roadblock.

Eyes wide and shiny, Touya gave him his best heartbroken Lillipup look. "Y-You don't believe me?"

Bullseye. He could almost hear Cheren's resolve crumbling. "Er, I, uh... no... yes?" Cheren stuttered, pinning his half-rimmed glasses to the bridge of his nose. Not many could beat him in a logical argument, but he couldn't handle tears. Bianca was the only one that really cried, but Touya could manage to look like he was about to.

"Good!" He dropped the pitiful look in favor of a wide grin. "I knew you would," he added, spinning around to begin walking in the direction they came from. "Now, let's-"

Something ahead of him made him stop speaking, stop walking, stop smiling. It wasn't really a something, though. More like a someone. A someone that was staring directly at him, a half-smile on his face. He was an older boy, with the same long, mint green hair as Team Plasma's sage. At least he wasn't wearing a robe or a suit of armor; just normal clothes, like what Touya's mother would try to persuade him to wear to a family get-together. A Pidove perched on his shoulder. He was 30 or 40 feet away, and then he was gone, disappearing through the trees.

Bianca's voice broke through his trance. "Why'd you stop talking so suddenly?" she asked, peering over his right shoulder curiously. Cheren mirrored her on Touya's left.

Touya thought for a moment, stepped back and put one arm around each of them. "...I have a better idea," he announced. "Let's split up and look around. We'll cover more ground that way." Accumula Town was kinda big, after all. It was at least bigger than they were used to.

"Split up? Already?" Bianca gasped.

Cheren shrugged. "Touya's right. We're each on our own journey, so we should see what it's like on our own for a while."

"You got it!" Grinning, Touya released his friends and slapped them both on the back. "Let's meet at the Pokémon Center in an hour. Bye!" Before the word left his mouth, he was running across the park grounds. He wasn't going to let that mysterious boy get away if he could help it. He had looked at Touya like he knew him, and that was more than enough to make Touya curious. Even his silence made him seem suspicious.

"See you later!" he heard Bianca call behind him, but he was completely focused on what was ahead. A good mystery always got his blood pumping faster.

The second Touya's sneakers hit concrete again, he paused and scanned his corner of the town. Many people passed him by, but none had the green hair he was looking for. Until - yes, there the boy was, heading down a street that led deeper into Accumula Town. Touya took a deep breath and then took off after him. After he caught up, he stayed at least ten feet and several pedestrians behind.

The boy walked leisurely, like he didn't know where he was going but he didn't mind wandering until he figured it out. He looked around him as if he'd never seen brick buildings before. Somehow, he stood out from the crowd and blended in at the same time. _Even more mysterious_, Touya thought, and the Pidove on the boy's shoulder fluttered energetically.

They neared a corner, and Touya made sure not to lift his eyes from the green-haired boy. If he lost sight of him, he would also miss out on the boy's secret. Was he related to that odd Plasma group? Was he some kind of criminal? Unfortunately, Touya was still staring when the boy glanced behind him, just before he turned. Their eyes met for the second time. Panicked, Touya looked away as quickly as possible without getting whiplash. Someone had dropped a shiny coin on the ground.

_Oh, great. Now he knows I'm following him. _Touya cursed under his breath as he crept over to the edge of the building and peered around the corner. Whether or not he knew, Touya couldn't give up yet. So far, he had only figured out that the boy was a bit spacey, and that he trained a Pidove-

No, the Pidove was gone. Touya spotted the boy strolling down the sidewalk, but there wasn't a Pidove on his shoulder anymore. Instead, a large yellow lizard was sitting in its place.

The Pidove had turned into a Scraggy.

_What the...? _Touya's mouth fell open. Did the boy manage to switch out Pokémon in the few seconds he wasn't watching? That had to be it. There wasn't any magic here; just some slight of hand. He shook his head and carefully continued to follow the boy.

At the next street, the boy paused and looked both ways. He decided to take a right, and Touya repeated what he did at the last turn. He crept up to the edge of the building, peered around the corner, and spotted that unusual green head of hair bobbing in the crowd. This time, the boy's shoulder was bare, and a round, red Pokémon was waddling along at his side. A Darumaka.

If that wasn't mysterious, Touya didn't know what was.

Nothing on that street interested the boy, either. At least, not enough to stop. He continued along with his Darumaka, preferring to watch the bird Pokémon gathering on rooftops than the people rushing by. And when he came to the next corner, he turned again. Touya followed, eager to see what would replace the Darumaka. Instead, he saw nothing at all. The green-haired boy had disappeared.

_I lost him? _Touya thought as he desperately scanned the street. _Maybe I just passed him, and didn't notice...?_ He turned around and went back the way he came, but there was no green-haired boy there, either. He was gone, without a trace. Touya sighed deeply and leaned back against a building, feeling the ridges of the bricks dig into his back. He closed his eyes and thought back, wondering where he'd missed his chance. Somewhere, he'd missed _something_. But where?

Instead of feeling the answer come to him, he felt unnatural breaths of wind against his face. Confused, he opened his eyes, only to find an Emolga flapping around an inch away from his face. "Auuugh!" he cried, sliding down the wall and landing heavily on the ground. The Emolga glided to the ground, laughing the whole way.

"I thought you were following me," said a voice. The boy strode over to him from around the corner, where he'd disappeared only moments before. He stopped directly in front of Touya, with the Emolga at his side. The Emolga took his arrival as a cue, and suddenly morphed into something very different from a flying squirrel - a small, smirking Zorua. "And now, I guess I have proof." From under the shadows his hat cast on his face, the boy offered Touya a smile.

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><p><strong>AN:** First chapter, done! And the first steps toward the running differences have been taken. I hope you enjoy the show.~

Playlist for Writing This Chapter:  
>Accumula Town Theme [Pokémon Black &amp; White OST],<p>

Hard To Explain [The Strokes],

The Sound of Settling [Death Cab For Cutie],

You Set Me Free [Michelle Branch] (Skyla's theme in my head)


	3. Chapter Two

**Twisting the Truth** - _Chapter Two_

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><p>Standing over him, the green-haired boy looked even taller than before. "I thought you were following me," he said, the smirking Zorua at his feet. "And now, I guess I have proof."<p>

Touya gulped. Nervously, he glanced from side to side, hoping to find an easy way to escape. He found nothing. "...I wasn't following you," he told the boy, sounding like a kid caught eating candy before dinner. He tried to give him his most innocent look, but the boy's strange eyes confused him.

"Yes you were," the boy replied. From where Touya sat, he could only see that his eyes were dark, but the way they focused was piercing. He looked into Touya instead of at him, like he was an insect pressed between glass slides.

"No I wasn't," Touya replied childishly. He couldn't think of anything else.

The boy reached down to pick up the Zorua. It instantly climbed to his shoulder, which seemed to be its favorite place to be. "You were at Team Plasma's speech, and then you were walking behind me, and now you're here." He spoke quickly, treating pauses like he didn't need them. He only took a break long enough to pet his Zorua on its head. "You're following me."

"Coincidences," Touya explained as he got up from the rough concrete. Standing straight, he was barely taller than the boy's shoulder. "That's all."

The boy heaved a sigh and turned away. "Fine then," he said, walking away down the sidewalk. His Zorua giggled again, a high-pitched, unpleasant sound to the one it was laughing at. Even if he seemed like he had nowhere to go, the boy was really in a hurry.

"Wait," Touya yelled, running after him to catch up. Then, he settled into the same pace as the boy. "What's your name?"

"N," he replied, briefly glancing at Touya. His eyes were teal, Touya noted; just like his Zorua's, but sharper and darker. His green hair roughly framed his face and ended at the middle of his back. Touya wasn't envious of those loose curls. They looked even more rebellious than his hair.

"Just N?" He'd never heard of someone with a one-letter name before. It had to be a nickname.

'N' nodded. "Just N." He smiled the same smile as before, like he knew something Touya didn't. "Who are you, and why are you still following me?"

Face burning, Touya ignored his second question and focused on the first. "I'm Touya. Do I know you?" He wanted to ask _'Do you know __me__?' _but the words didn't work. N didn't seem familiar to him at all.

"No," N replied curtly. He started walking even faster. The small ringed planet around his neck bounced against his chest.

Touya recalled the Team Plasma speech, and spotting N afterward. The look N gave him wasn't the look of a stranger. Instead of 'Nice to meet you', it was 'Nice to see you again'. Keeping up with him now required Touya to stay just under a jog. "But you..." he began, struggling to explain his eerie feeling, "At that speech in the park..."

They paused at the street corner and looked both ways before crossing. An elderly woman crossing from the opposite side waved at them, but only Touya returned it. N didn't even glance at her. "Yes, I was there."

Touya felt increasingly uncomfortable. N clearly didn't want him around. He lowered his eyes to his sneakers. "That's not what I meant..." he insisted, but moved along anyway. "Are you a part of them? Of Team Plasma?"

"They brought up good points." N side-stepped his question as easily as if it was a dizzy Bouffalant. "Don't you think so?" He stopped at the end of a short line, so abruptly that his follower bumped into the woman in front of him. The Zorua snickered.

"Sorry, sorry," Touya told the woman, but she only smiled and waved him away. "Happens all the time," she said, turning to face the front.

He returned his focus to N, apologetic feelings overcast by annoyance. He wasn't really answering any of Touya's questions. Maybe the whole thing was just a waste of his time. "I guess they did, if trainers abused their Pokémon. They don't."

For the first time, N spoke with something close to emotion in his voice. "Yes, they do. Every one of them does."

Touya went silent. Someone ahead of them said "Chocolate!" and a gentle voice responded, "One or two?" The line shortened, and then only the woman was ahead of them.

"You're kidding, right?" Touya said eventually.

"Not at all. Everywhere, Pokémon are suffering at the hands of their owners." The emotion faded. "I've seen those Pokémon myself."

The image of a battered Patrat tugged at Touya from the back of his mind. He couldn't deny what he'd seen. Make-up could never make the look in its eyes that helpless. His shoulders sagged, heavy under the strange extra weight he suddenly felt. "That's... terrible. No Pokémon deserves that. No one... deserves that..."

He could feel N's eyes on him, and they lingered for a long time. The look wasn't as intrusive as before, but Touya didn't have the energy to meet his eyes.

The woman in front of them moved, leaving them at the front of the line. N brushed past him, telling the girl behind the stand, "Chocolate." It was small and pastel pink, just like the girl's apron.

She grinned at him and held up a silver ice cream scooper. "One or two?" She was running an ice cream stand. That's what they had been in line for.

"Two."

"And for your friend?" the girl asked, nodding at Touya. She reached into the small freezer attached to the stand and scooped two near-perfect spheres of chocolate ice cream into a waffle cone.

N hesitated at the title 'friend', but still turned to him. "Do you want ice cream, Touya?"

Touya scratched his head awkwardly, not sure what to say. His mother often recited 'Don't take candy from strangers' like she was required to do it, but what about accepting ice cream from mysterious boys? "Uh, sure. Strawberry, I guess."

"Okay, you can order after me." N took the cone the girl held out to him and gave her a handful of coins in return. The Zorua stretched out on his arm, trying to get the first lick.

Touya stared at him. "Wait, you're not going to buy it for me?"

"No. Why should I?"

"Well, I don't know; because you offered to?"

"When did I do that?"

Touya gave him a withering look. "Nevermind. Strawberry, please. Two scoops," he told the girl, and she had his ice cream ready in seconds. He paid her the same amount, then took the cone. Strawberry ice cream, stacked high - just what he liked.

N raised his chocolate cone high in the air. "No, this is mine," he explained to the Zorua, spinning out of the line. The Zorua wobbled and hopped off his shoulder indignantly, glaring up at its trainer's wide grin. The way he acted with his Zorua was completely different from the way he treated people. All his defenses were up with Touya, but his Pokémon tore them down instantly.

"You're really close, aren't you?" Touya commented, moving out of the way of the next person in line. He gave his ice cream a strong lick, savoring the sweet, fruity taste.

Just like that, N tacked his defenses together again. His smile shrank down to only a shadow of happiness. "We've been together for a long, long time." The Zorua growled in agreement.

"How long?"

N didn't answer. He nibbled at the top of his waffle cone. As impatient as he was when walking and talking, he was also impatient when eating ice cream. "Do you have a Pokémon, Touya?"

The annoyed feeling returned. "Yes, I just got a partner of my own."

"A partner?" The term seemed to light up N's eyes - but maybe Touya imagined it. "Let me see it."

Touya reached over to his belt and unlatched the one Pokéball attached to it. He was extremely proud of what waited inside. It was his first Pokémon ever, given to him by Professor Juniper. "Come on out, Tepig," he said, and in a zap of red light, the fiery pig was released. It oinked excitedly as it landed on the sidewalk ahead of him.

Kneeling down, N reached out for Tepig. It sniffed his hand curiously and oinked at him. When he ran that hand over Tepig's back, the Pokémon happily allowed him. "Hello, Tepig. What do you think of your trainer?" N asked it, as if speaking to a small child.

Tepig's reply was enthusiastic and loud, ending with a satisfied snort that sprayed a few harmless sparks. It glanced up at Touya hopefully, and N's eyes widened. His mouth dropped open. Whatever Tepig "told" him left him bewildered.

Touya didn't believe that N actually understood Tepig, but something had surprised him. "N? Are you okay?" he asked, licking his strawberry ice cream absently.

"Your Tepig told me it likes you," N said, standing.

"Oh, really?" Some of Touya's skepticism leaked into his tone, but N didn't seem to notice.

"And that being with you is a lot of fun."

Touya couldn't help but smile, lie or not. He really wanted Tepig to like him. They were going to be traveling Unova together, after all. "Hey, great. I like you too, Tepig," he told the Pokémon. Tepig had been staring down N's Zorua, but it looked up and oinked at the sound of its trainer's voice.

N munched at his ice cream cone thoughtfully. "Maybe you're different," he said, barely loud enough to hear.

"Huh?"

Closing his eyes, N told him, "Listen."

He could hear nothing at first, but soon the sound grew louder. Confident plinks of piano keys and the rat-a-tat of a drumset flowed through the air. The music seemed to come from a house on a hill, but it perfectly accompanied the bustling downtown. The musicians sounded as passionate about their town as they could be. Following N's lead, Touya closed his eyes and let the music carry him away.

When he opened his eyes again, N and his Zorua were gone.

"Eh, uh, where...?" Confused, Touya spun around and scanned the entire street for a head of green hair. "No good-bye?" he huffed. Without Tepig bounding around at his feet and an ice cream cone in his hand, his mood would have been ruined. Fortunately, he had both of them.

He glanced at his Xtransceiver in the sunset's orange light. It wasn't long before he was supposed to be at the Pokémon center. "Let's go find Cheren and Bianca," he suggested to Tepig, who immediately fell in beside him as he headed back to the edge of Accumula Town. "I bet they miss us by now."

"Touya! You're alive!" Bianca cried when he approached the Pokémon center, where she and Cheren were already waiting. She threw her arms around him and squeezed him close.

Touya laughed. "Should I really be dead after an hour on my own?"

She released him and gave him a silly smile. "You never know."

"Now you sound like Cheren."

"Hey," Cheren cut in, "I only worry when I need to."

Smirking, Touya replied, "_Right_."

Bianca crouched down by Tepig and patted it on the head. "Nice to see you again, Tepig!" she said sweetly, and Tepig responded with a friendly oink. Touya doubted that she would try to decipher the greeting.

"I found a large bookstore and a strange fashion boutique in my end of town," Cheren relayed to Touya. By 'strange', he probably meant a store without V-necks. "What did you see?" His blue-gray eyes shifted to Touya's half-eaten ice cream. Touya's did, too.

"Well, nothing, really," Touya said awkwardly. It was the truth. He spent so much time following that mysterious 'N' that he forgot to look around. "I found an ice cream stand, I guess!" He held up the ice cream as if it was a trophy.

"That's all?" Bianca asked, scratching behind one of Tepig's ears.

"Yeah. There wasn't much to see." Cheren's eyes probed him for more information, but Touya decided to leave N out. He wasn't sure why.

"How sad." Cheren paused. "Let's battle."

Touya raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You heard me: Let's battle!" Cheren grabbed the first Pokéball on his belt. "Go, Oshawott!" he commanded, releasing his first partner: Oshawott, the sea otter Pokémon. It let out a battle cry, which was more cute than intimidating.

"Way to pull that out of nowhere," Touya replied, but he wasn't as bothered as he acted. Mysteries got his blood rushing, and so did Pokémon battles. From knowing him so long, he could tell Cheren felt the same way. "All right, Tepig, let's go!" he shouted, and Tepig leapt away from Bianca and into the imaginary ring.

"Ooh, how exciting!" Bianca commented, straightening up and striking a cheerleader pose. "Go go go, both of you!"

Cheren grinned at him, the way he did just before winning at a board game. "This time, I won't go down so easily." He pointed at Tepig with one hand and pushed up his glasses with the other. "Oshawott, use Tail Whip!" The otter charged and swung its plank-shaped tail, which Tepig dodged at the last second.

"Good, Tepig!" Touya cheered. "Now, use Tackle!" Tepig followed his command, launching itself into the Oshawott full-force. He was smiling so widely it hurt. Over-dramatically, he licked his ice cream cone.

The Oshawott was knocked back, but wasn't even close to down for the count. "Lucky hit," taunted Cheren. "You'll see. Oshawott, Tackle it back!"

The battle sparked and the flame grew. A small crowd gathered around them, eager to see which of the two trainers would pull off the win. In the end, Touya decided, it didn't matter - as long as they were all together, with Pokémon at their sides.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And Arceus said, "Let these two trainers meet," and it was awkward.

Playlist for Writing This Chapter:

Accumula Town Theme [Pokémon Black & White OST]

Scientist Studies [Death Cab For Cutie]

Animal Arithmetic [Jónsi]

Trainer Battle [Pokémon FR/LG OST]


	4. Chapter Three

**Twisting the Truth** - _Chapter Three_

* * *

><p>"Pansage, use Vine Whip!" Touya commanded.<p>

The Pansage did what it was told. It nodded at its trainer, then sent a thin green vine at the opposing Panpour. The water monkey staggered when hit by the vine, and a determined scowl overtook the Gym Leader's face.

"Is that the best you can do?" shouted Cress, shaking his long blue bangs out of his eyes. "I've been in worse situations with unappreciative patrons!" Despite his tough talk, he nervously popped and unpopped the button on the left cuff of his white button-up shirt. Touya already took down his first Pokémon with Tepig, and in this round, Pansage had the type advantage. "Don't give up yet, Panpour! Strike back with Fury Swipes!"

With narrowed eyes, the Panpour dashed at Pansage and lashed out with its claws. One scratch, two scratches, three scratches, four scratches - Pansage was able to escape then, but the damage was done. Two of the scratches were across its round, tan cheeks. It winced when it curiously touched the cuts.

Touya ground his teeth. Seeing his Pokémon in pain made him want to head instantly to the Pokémon center, but he couldn't leave now. He was so close to his first gym badge: the Trio Badge from Striaton Gym. "Pansage! Vine Whip again!" he called out, pointing at the weakened Panpour. One more hit should end the battle.

"It looks like Bro's about to get his fire put out," commented Chili, who nudged the third brother, Cilan, with his elbow. All three brothers were the Gym Leaders, but only one faced each challenger. The other two apparently got to stand back and watch. To Touya, that was better than being triple-teamed.

"Yeah, er, this challenger's a good one," Cilan stuttered, running his hand through the tuft of green grass he called his hair.

Cress glared at them. "Be quiet! It's not over until - "

_Thud_. The Panpour fainted after another strike of Pansage's vine. Pansage danced a little victory dance, and Touya thrust his fist into the air. "Yeah!" he cried, outdoing even his Pokémon in excitement. Finally, his first gym battle win!

" - That happens?" Cilan suggested to Cress. His brother just glared harder.

Cress soon regained his composure and approached Touya. He smoothed his vest, then handed over a tiny golden badge with three pointed sections: one colored blue, one red, and one green. It resembled the Pokémon types and hair colors of the three Gym Leaders. "Here is the Trio Badge. You are now a certified Trainer at Striaton Gym. You were a worthy opponent."

Happily, Touya accepted the badge and snapped it into his badge case. "You too. Now, about that free meal..."

Striaton Gym was a grand building with tall, paneled walls and wooden floors (besides the Leaders' room, which had soft red-square carpet around the battle stage). It doubled as a restaurant, so tables and chairs were scattered across the length of the gym, two in each curtained room. Even the Leaders doubled as waiters, and they offered a meal on the house to any winning challenger. From what he'd heard about the food, Touya was more eager for the meal than the badge.

Cilan directed him to one of the tables in the Leaders' room, which was as fancy as Touya could imagine. Any time his place was set with more than one fork was automatically more than he was used to. Beside him, Cress stood proud in the black-and-white waiter's uniform that matched his brothers'. He listed the specials, and most of them went right over Touya's head. Chili was the one to both take his order and bring it out to him. The special Touya was a colorful salad as tall as a small hill, and by the time it was set in front of him with a flourish, he felt almost like royalty.

"How, um, is it?" Cilan asked him halfway through the meal. His brothers looked on from either side of him, like they were attached at the elbows.

Touya set down his fork and gave them a wide grin. "It's great! Thanks." He thought it was even better than his mother's attempts at edible salads, but decided it wasn't a safe thing to say. Her "mom senses" probably worked for miles.

"Then you'd better bring your fire back here again sometime!" Chili announced, striking a pose. Compared to the other Leaders, he was brimming with energy.

Arms folded, Cress nodded and said, "Once I have improved, I would like a rematch."

"Sounds like a plan," Touya replied. He eagerly dug back into the salad and managed to finish it in almost record time.

He left the gym directly after the meal, still at the top of the word. His first-ever gym badge rested safely in his messenger bag. The cool evening air of Striaton City greeted him. Striaton was even bigger than Accumula, with skyscrapers sporting pink windows reaching high above him. Even the gym and the Trainers' School refused to stay low to the ground. Looking up started to make Touya dizzy, but so did looking down at the strange pattern of the roads.

Just outside the gym, Bianca was waiting. She jumped off the banister when the doors opened and balanced on one of the stairs. "There you are! How'd it go?" she asked, green eyes shining hopefully.

"It was awful," Touya said, and her face fell. He reached into his bag and pulled out his badge case. "I only got this," he added, opening it and showing off the shiny new Trio Badge.

Bianca gasped. "'Only'? That's wonderful, Touya! You won your first badge already!" Staying true to her affectionate personality, she gave him a soft, congratulatory hug.

"Already?" said Cheren's voice. When Bianca released Touya, they both looked to see him at the bottom of the stairs. He was panting, like he'd been running for a while. "I was studying at the Pokémon Trainers' School all day for this battle, but you already beat me to the win?"

Touya shrugged. "I guess I did. Maybe you should've skipped studying and gone straight to the battle part, like me."

Cheren clenched his fists. "Skipped studying?" he said incredulously. "Knowledge is the basis of power. You can't win if you don't know what you're doing." Nose held high, he started up the stairs.

"Maybe some of us already know what we're doing." Touya folded his arms behind his head.

"Or maybe you just got lucky."

Bianca, wringing out her hands, stepped around Touya on the stairs. "Hey, guys, no fighting! This is supposed to be fun," she cut in. Cheren glanced at her, but continued silently to the gym door.

When he gave it a little thought, Touya remembered that she was right. They were traveling to enjoy themselves, not to argue. He tossed away his defensive feelings and chased Cheren up the stairs. "Hey," he said, setting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Good luck in there." The smile still came easily, because Cheren was his best friend.

Cheren turned to him, face redder than usual. He was probably still angry about being shoved to second place. "...Thank you. And... congratulations," he replied hurriedly, then through the double doors he went.

Bianca pressed her lips into a straight line. "I'm sure he'll be okay. He's just jealous of how totally awesome you are, Touya!" she praised. If left alone with Cheren, she would've said the same thing about his intelligence. "So, let's get going to the Dreamyard while he's in there. Fennel said she wanted that Dream Mist ASAP!" She pranced down the stairs, almost tripping over the final step.

"First, the Pokémon center. My Pokémon worked really hard in there." Touya replied, and she couldn't argue with that. After his group was healed, she practically sprinted out the door.

"Toooo the Dreamyard!" Bianca sang.

"Why are we helping her, again?" Touya followed, but without all the hurry. He wanted to go check out the gardens, not do some scientist's field work for her. Those gardens were in the opposite direction.

"Because Fennel's a friend of Professor Juniper! And helping people is always the right thing to do." Charging along down Striaton's main street, she got more than one strange look from passersby. Touya pretended not to know her.

Challenging Bianca's sense of justice was always a lose-lose situation, so Touya resigned to his evening's fate. "Fine, let's go find that Dream Mist."

It took a short walk through the trees in Striaton's upper right corner to arrive at the Dreamyard. In the fading light, it was only a destroyed research facility, with bits and pieces of walls, equipment and even ceilings strewn about. In the years since the accident no one would explain, it had become a training ground for new trainers. They popped out of dark corners, demanding a battle, which Touya was happy to give them. He and Bianca divided them up equally, giving both of their teams a nice workout.

Deep in the run-down building was what they were looking for. Only Munna and Musharna could make Dream Mist, Fennel had explained, and they preferred living at the heart of the facility. From there, they could spread the mist over all the Pokémon in the Dreamyard, leaving them with sweet dreams at night. Bianca began to tremble with excitement the closer they got to the center - she really did love being helpful.

The two friends picked their way through the crumbling walls and holes in the floor, and soon, they found the "room" they were looking for. It wasn't much of a room anymore; the ceiling was almost entirely gone. Yet they weren't alone in the heart of the research facility: two little boys were playing there, and a floating pink Pokémon was with them. A Munna.

The Munna was crying.

"Jeez, this thing is stupid, isn't it?" said the first little boy, with the short blond hair. He held a stick in his right hand, and he jabbed the Munna with it. "It's not even fighting back."

The other boy, his face narrow and his hair black, laughed at the squealing Munna. "You're right. C'mon, Munna. My sister says your psychic powers are waaaay powerful. I think she just likes you 'cause you have flowers on your butt." He raised one leg and kicked the Munna. "Show us your powers!"

"Stop it!" Bianca shrieked. Both boys jumped at the sound of her voice. She and Touya sprinted over to them, right when the Munna fell to the ground.

Touya yanked the stick from the blond boy's hand. "Who told you you could torture this poor Pokémon?" he demanded, barely containing his desire to hit the boy over the head with it.

"No one," said the blond boy, backing away. "We weren't doing nothing."

Bianca's face looked just like a Cheri berry. "Yes you were! You hurt that Munna! We watched you!" She advanced on the black-haired boy.

"Even if we did," he replied defiantly, "What're you gonna do about it? You're not our mom."

Touya took a deep breath. Hitting the kids would be a bad idea, but... maybe there was another way to teach them a lesson. "I think our Pokémon have something to say. Right, Bianca?"

She gave him a questioning look at first, but then nodded. As he pulled his first Pokéball from his belt, she plucked one from her bag.

"Ooh, Pokémon. I'm so scared," taunted the black-haired boy. "What are they, cute lil' Lillipups?"

"Go, Tepig!"

"Come out, Snivy!"

The fire pig and grass snake landed on the ground in front of the boys. "These boys think it's okay to hurt Pokémon," Touya explained to them. "Show them what you've got! Tepig, Ember!"

Tepig snorted at the blond boy, sending a flurry of sparks his way. The boy jumped away, but couldn't avoid a singed sleeve. "It's sneezing fire at me!" he cried, staring at his sleeve with wide eyes.

Bianca wasn't going to let Touya have all the fun. She smiled evilly at her Snivy. "Now, Snivy! Use Growth!" Her Pokémon concentrated, and suddenly began to grow. In a short time it was taller than both boys, and looked quite smug about it, too.

"It's a giant!" the black-haired boy screeched. "L-Let's just go home, Terry! Now!" Without waiting for his friend's response, he took off toward the exit. The blond followed less gracefully, almost tripping into one of the floor's holes.

"This isn't over yet!" Bianca called to them. "Snivy, chase them and give them a taste of your Vine Whip!" The massive Snivy nodded and lumbered away in pursuit of the boys.

When the Snivy disappeared, Touya whistled. "Well, that's over... what about the Munna?" His heart rate wouldn't slow down, no matter how many deep breaths he took. Tepig oinked curiously at him.

"I'll take it to the Pokémon center. We can worry about the Dream Mist later," Bianca said calmly. Being vicious took every bit of energy she had. "I'll find Snivy along the way." She moved to the Munna's side and crouched down to pick it up. The round pink body was too much for her, but she insisted she could handle it. "Don't worry about me," she told him as she struggled out of the room. "I'm gonna prove myself to Munna. You'll see!"

Touya was left alone in the silent Dreamyard as night fell. It wasn't exactly the gardens, but Touya decided it was worth exploring. It might help him calm down. It was eerie on his own, so he kept Tepig out of its Pokéball. The little pig was excited to check the facility out - to it, the Dreamyard was a playground.

"Stupid kids," he muttered, kicking a crumbling fragment of the wall. "I can't believe it..."

Near the facility's center, Tepig discovered a fully-intact staircase that seemed to lead into the starry night sky. Touya looked it over suspiciously. "Think it'd cave in if we climbed it?" he asked Tepig, but the Pokémon ignored his worries and hopped up the stairs. "Tepig, wait!" he called, but still he was ignored for the sake of "fun". As he reluctantly climbed the stairs after Tepig, he repeated in his head, _Don'tcaveindon'tcaveinfortheloveofArceusdon'tcavein!_

Thankfully, they both made it to the top safely. It looked like they were on what remained of the facility's second floor. It didn't have much of a barrier around it, so a fall meant ending up on the ground floor sooner than he could curse his luck. Still, he felt a rush from standing so high up. The wind ruffled his hair with a chilly breeze that sent shivers across his shoulders.

"Let's go see what we can find up here, Tepig," he suggested, and they both turned away from the stairs. Touya turned straight into a fluffy, wet-snouted Woobat. He panicked, croaking, "Wha - " before losing his balance. Because of a stupid Woobat, he was going to break whatever bone he landed on. It figured.

In the split-second before he fell, he saw a flash of movement and felt a hand grip his wrist. The leverage was all he needed to stay safely on the second floor. "You weren't supposed to fall," said the familiar voice the hand belonged to. "Again."

Touya placed his hand on his chest and glanced at the Woobat. Of course, it was gone, and a giggling Zorua was there instead. "And your Zorua wasn't supposed to be up here to startle me, N." The (almost) near-death experience had his heart back to Rapidash speed. "Where did you come from?"

"The basement." N hiked his thumb over his shoulder and toward the floor. "This place is... fascinating." In the moonlight, his mint green hair had an unearthly glow. He spotted Tepig at Touya's feet and waved. "Hello again, Tepig. How have you been?" The Pokémon gave him a friendly oink in return.

Touya frowned. Even Tepig got a warmer greeting than he did. "Then I guess you didn't see what happened earlier."

N tilted his head like a confused Lillipup. "No. What happened?" His Zorua padded over to Tepig and struck up another staring contest.

"Some kids were hurting a Munna. We chased them away, but my friend Bianca still had to take the Munna to the Pokémon center..."

N listened quietly, his expression darkening with every word. "How dare they. I can't believe I wasn't there to take care of them. At least you were."

Touya lowered his gaze to the tiled gray floor. "Um, thanks?" he replied hesitantly. He couldn't tell if it was a compliment or not. Beside him, the Zorua shifted into a copy of Tepig, making the real one oink in surprise. Zorua-Tepig laughed at it.

"No, really. Thank you for saving my Pokémon friend." The words were forced, but somehow honest, as if he didn't get a chance to thank someone often. He looked almost flustered, but he hid it behind his hair as he sat down and swung his legs over the floor's edge.

"You're welcome," Touya said, just as awkwardly. He took a seat beside N, keeping a safe ten inches between them. He was oddly curious about the boy, and didn't want to scare him away by sitting too close. Behind him, Tepig chased its copy around.

Looking out, he saw that the Dreamyard was almost magical-looking at night. It really looked like a playground of dreams, instead of a sad, abandoned building. The large moon made the edges shine, and the twinkling stars lit up the sky. "...It's kinda nice here, isn't it?" he commented, avoiding the word "pretty" like he'd avoided the holes in the floor.

"That's why I like coming here," N said, calmly watching the sky. When he said nothing else, they fell into a short silence.

Eventually, N spoke again. "Touya?"

"Yeah?"

"Has anyone ever hurt you?"

Touya blinked. "I, uh, don't know what you're talking about." He focused his attention on the playing Pokémon behind them, hoping N would drop the subject.

"Your mother? Your father? Have you been hurt like the Pokémon have?" N was clearly not dropping the subject. He focused his piercing gaze on Touya, waiting patiently for the answer.

Shifting uncomfortably, Touya tightly clenched his fists, so tight he felt his nails cutting into his palms. "Why should I answer that? You don't answer any of my questions," he snapped. "In Accumula Town, all you did was avoid them."

N didn't say anything. The Dreamyard lapsed into another silence. Touya realized then that N was giving him a chance to take down his barriers; to earn some of his trust. He just had to reveal his deepest secret. No sweat.

He struggled with the words for a long time. In the end, he only managed to say a few of them. "Well, okay. Yeah. My father wasn't the greatest guy. But he's gone now, so I don't have to deal with him anymore." He spoke through his teeth, and the effort left him exhausted. He felt like he'd been pressing his face against a heater.

"Where did he go?" Another question. Touya wanted to punch him.

"I... I don't remember, okay? Why? Why does it matter anyway?" He didn't want N drilling any deeper into his heart. He wanted to be friends, but the information N wanted was too personal.

N's expression softened, and Touya immediately regretted his spiteful feelings. "...Because you were right," he began. His dark, blue-green eyes shone with starlight. "No one deserves that. Even you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I can't be the only one that thought the Dreamyard was romantic at night.

There are a few more differences in this chapter, but the MAJOR ones will be coming in Castelia/Nimbasa. I really can't wait.

Playlist for Writing This Chapter:

Gym Leader (Final Pokémon) Theme [Pokémon Black & White OST]

Waltz (waltz in blue) [Jean-Jacques Burnel]

Warehouse of Broken Dreams [Pokémon Black & White OST]

Douce Mousitomanie [Orion]


	5. Chapter Four

**Twisting the Truth** - _Chapter Four_

* * *

><p><em>"So, you still think all Pokémon are being abused?" Touya asked him, not expecting a different answer. He just wanted to move the conversation away from himself.<em>

_N nodded. "Of course. You've seen it happen, at the hands of children. Have you changed your mind about it?"_

_"Not yet." Touya leaned back on his hands and tilted his head toward the sky. "But I'm starting to see where you're coming from..."_

Touya exhaled heavily. Meeting up with N was easy to get irritated over. For a while, it was fine: they talked and talked about their Pokémon and where Touya grew up and where N had traveled. N didn't cross any more lines with his questions. But when the day's fatigue settled in, Touya fell asleep, and N took that opportunity to mysteriously disappear again. Thanks to Tepig's nudging, he woke up only a little while later, but he woke up alone.

"What are you sighing about?" Cheren gave him a questioning glance over the rim of his glasses. With one bare foot, he lazily stirred the clear blue water of Nacrene Lake. His shoes and socks were directly to his left, beside his neatly folded blazer, and his pant legs were rolled up as far as they would go. Due to their tightness, that was only halfway to his knees.

The two of them were lounging side-by-side on the bridge along Route 3. It was a warm fall day, and the lake was comfortably cool. Touya also had his feet in the water, but his pants easily rolled to his knees. His jacket, hat, shoes and socks were in a haphazard pile to his right. Again, the strange, secretive feeling kept him from mentioning N. "I'm remembering my battle with Lenora yesterday," he said instead. "I can't believe I lost." That wasn't exactly a lie. His loss was still bothering him.

Cheren kicked a small spray of water into the air. "Of course you lost. You rushed right into the gym, didn't you? You need more preparation than that."

"But Tepig evolved along this route, and I thought we could handle it." Touya's expression soured. His Tepig, now a Pignite, was wandering around with the rest of his team: Pansage and Blitzle. The Blitzle he'd caught right before Tepig's evolution. It watched Touya shyly, never moving too far away.

"You thought wrong," Cheren replied in a grating 'I told you so' tone. He glanced down at his hand, discovering his Purrloin's attempt at stealing his attention. It nuzzled that hand and purred, receiving a firm pet in return. Cheren had released his team only after curiously watching Touya do it first. His Pidove was chatting up a few wild ones, his Dewott was enjoying a swim in the lake, and his Purrloin lost interest and padded away after getting what it wanted.

Touya stuck out his tongue defiantly. "I know, I know. I'm going to train more tonight. Go ahead and beat me to the badge this time, Know-It-All."

Shrugging, Cheren said, "I'd rather stay here." In front of them, the lake reflected the clouds racing across the blue sky. "Do you remember coming here before? When we were kids?"

He thought back, years and years, for a memory fuzzy around the edges. Closing his eyes made it easier. "...Maybe. Weren't we really little then?" The image sluggishly came into focus, but when Touya tried to play the video back, he could barely see anything past the blur.

Cheren nodded. When he continued his explanation, he avoided Touya's eyes. "It was just us boys, here to go fishing with our fathers. Don't you remember now?"

The face of his father flashed in Touya's head. It wasn't the face he'd last seen, but the kind, smiling one his father wore when he was a little kid. It was the face he'd smiled back at all those years ago, next to Nacrene Lake. Confusion displaced all of Touya's other feelings. "Ha, ha. Barely. How do you still remember something from that long ago?" The laugh sounded fake, even to him.

"Because it was a lot of fun. It was a perfect day, before everything went to hell," Cheren explained, picking up a pebble from a board and tossing it over the water. Instead of skipping, it hit the surface once and sank. His Dewott spotted the movement and chased it determinedly. "My father taught us how to fish, and yours... was still nice then."

Touya didn't remember much of the past ten years - it helped that he'd worked so hard to block it out - but Cheren was right. The memory of that day was still there, in pure, vivid colors. He saw a tiny him and a tiny Cheren at the waterside, each holding fishing poles. Their fathers guided their hands, and even though his father's hands were as large and powerful as ever, he wasn't rough in getting Touya to follow directions. Touya was still too young to truly disappoint him.

"I remember walking around the edge of the lake together. We weren't allowed to go off alone."

"So you do remember," Cheren mused, black eyebrows raised high in surprise. He tapped his fingers along the bridge's edge, and his expression changed into something almost wistful. "We held hands then, to keep from falling in. But... we're to old for that now, aren't we?"

Touya laughed, and this time it wasn't fake at all. "Why was that even a question?"

"I don't know." Cheren prodded the red frame of his glasses, and they glared in the midday sun. "Forget it."

Rolling his eyes, Touya leaned over and brushed his fingertips along the water. His reflection stared back at him. "Whatever."

"You know, you seem distracted lately. More than usual," Cheren added for safety. "Has something happened?"

"Hmm?" Touya lifted his head and peered at his friend. "No, nothing's happened." He'd only met a strange green-haired boy that liked to disappear at will and seen Pokémon abuse that gave him flashbacks. It was nothing.

Cheren met his eyes appraisingly. "Really? You're not hiding anything from me?" He always wanted to be in on everything; even silly conversations about nothing with Bianca. He considered any secret kept from him to be a knife in the back. Still, Touya felt like keeping a few small things from him once in a while.

Now was one of those times. He grinned at Cheren, saying, "What, you expect me to lie to you? You're my best friend, Cheren." He lifted his hand from the water and vigorously mussed Cheren's hair. "I wouldn't keep something from you!"

Cheren blinked against the dark hair strewn all over his forehead. "Really? Really?" he asked, taking both hands to Touya's already messy brown hair.

"Yeah, really." A messier hairstyle didn't bother Touya, but he still fought on. After disarming his friend with a near-tears expression, he abruptly shoved him into the lake.

Cheren landed with a splash and stood with a cough and splutter. They were near the bank, so the water was only waist deep. "You... really?" he demanded. He was completely drenched, and his glasses had fallen off during his fall. He looked ridiculous.

Touya stopped laughing just long enough to answer him. "Yeah," he said, smiling broadly. "Really."

The scowl remained for several long seconds. Then, it was replaced with a grin of his own. "Fine," he replied, and he reached up and pulled Touya in after him.

* * *

><p>The lake trip only seemed like a bad idea half an hour later, when Touya was walking through Nacrene City soaking wet and shivering whenever the wind picked up. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and his clothes clung to his skin uncomfortably. His Pokémon were back in their Pokéballs, which were stuffed away in his bag with everything else he wanted to keep dry. At least his Xtransceiver was waterproof - it followed him into the lake, and it would've been too late for it otherwise.<p>

"I can't believe Cheren wanted to stay behind," he muttered absently. Even after the Dewott fished his glasses out for him, he chose to stick around. He didn't give a reason. The warmth of the Pokémon center was beckoning to Touya, but the same didn't apply to Cheren. "It's his cold..."

Nacrene City was an assortment of old warehouses overtaken by artsy people. Cheren's crowd. Only a block into town, he managed to spot a handful of people in skinny jeans and triangle scarves. Touya hoped they would consider his dripping on the street to be some new kind of art. As he passed the warehouses by, he looked them over, wondering what the appeal was. They looked roomy, but not very homey. The people moving in and out were happy, though, and he wanted to understand why. Since beginning his travels, he wanted to understand a lot of things - it was a little overwhelming.

The Pokémon center was in the middle of Nacrene city. He'd already been there, but couldn't patch together how to get there this time. The spacing between buildings was a bit random, leaving large gaps in some areas and barely enough room for a Joltik to crawl through elsewhere. It made making a mental map tough. Touya started cutting through alleys, aiming blinding for that warm, dry haven, but often found himself distracted by intricate murals painted on the sides of warehouses. Even more distracting, he spotted a familiar head of green hair down an alley he hadn't thought of heading down before, and his plans changed instantly.

Touya shuffled down that alley, a smile back on his face. He was still cold and wet, but they didn't have to talk for long. All he needed was a few directions. He opened his mouth to call out to N, but then noticed that he'd been blind to the fact that N wasn't alone.

"My Lord," the man in the knight's costume addressed N. "Ghetsis has spoken to us about you."

N replied, "Oh? What did he say?"

The woman at the man's side spoke up. "He said he wants you back at the castle. You've been outside a lot lately, and he's worried about you." She wore the same uniform as the man. From the looks of it, they were both Team Plasma grunts. Touya hadn't seen them for a while.

"I know what Ghetsis wants me to do, and I'm doing it." N shook his head, his loose green curls bouncing along his back. "I don't need to go back already."

The grunts weren't very happy with his answer. Stepping forward, the man pulled a Pokéball from behind his back. "Then me and Petal are authorized to use force." Petal tossed a Pokéball of her own up and down in her hand.

N's Zorua growled at them from his feet. "Don't worry. I'll battle you if I have to," he said confidently. "You will fight for me, won't you, Zorua?" he asked his Pokémon, and the Zorua barked to show its loyalty.

"There's no way you can beat both Quentin and me at the same time," Petal remarked, a snide grin splitting her red lips. She tossed her Pokéball out ahead of her, crying, "Let's show him real power, Pidove!" The Pidove was released in a flash of red light, and it soared high into the air on its gray and black wings.

Quentin followed her lead. "Y'know what to do, Patrat!" he shouted, and the wild-eyed chipmunk Pokémon was released.

Touya couldn't stand back and watch anymore. He felt like it wasn't his place to interfere, but the grunts weren't playing by the rules. Running made him even colder, but he tried to ignore it and focus on grabbing the right Pokéball from his bag. When he found it, he stopped on N's side and tossed his own Pokémon into the fray: "Blitzle! Go!"

N turned to him, eyes wide. "Touya? When did you get here?" He looked him over with a puzzled expression. "And why are you all wet?"

"When I saw this was a two-on-one battle," Touya responded. "And... I was pulled into the lake."

"By what?"

"Hey, Kid," Quentin cut in. "This isn't none of your business. This is between us and Lord N." His tone was more irritated than condescending. His Patrat focused its target-like eyes on Zorua.

Touya straightened his back and shrugged. "I'm just making this fight fair." He smiled at N supportively, and getting that smile returned made him believe that he was considered a friend after all. "Blitzle!" he called, and his Pokémon snapped to attention. "Use Shock Wave on Pidove!"

The zebra Pokémon's mane lit up bright yellow. It focused enough electricity in no time and fired it at Petal's Pidove. "No!" Petal groaned, and the Pidove dove to the ground, squawking in surprise.

"Pidove!" With a heaving breast, Petal's Pokémon got up and waited for her command. "Show Zorua your Air Cutter!" The Pidove lifted itself back into the air and used its wings to control the wind around it. It sharpened the wind into a razor's edge.

"Watch out, Zorua!" N said quickly. His Pokémon reacted just in time to brace itself against the attack. Only a few cuts sliced through Zorua's dark gray fur.

Quentin shouted the next command. "Patrat! Attack the Zorua with Bite!" The Patrat bared its long, sharp teeth and dashed toward its target. With those teeth, it looked like it could gnaw through bone. After chewing for a long time, of course.

N wasn't going to let them take out his Pokémon that easily. He had a few tricks up the tight sleeves of his turtleneck. "Zorua, confuse them with Fake Tears!" he instructed, and his Zorua began to cry as cutely as possible. The Patrat stopped instantly, caught off guard and afraid to upset it more.

A stationary target was a perfect one. Touya grinned, happy to take the opportunity N gave him. "All right, Blitzle, Quick Attack that Patrat!" Blitzle leapt after the Patrat and struck it, hard. It stumbled backward, target eyes spinning.

"Don't forget about me," Petal whined, pouting her lips. "You'll regret it! Pidove, Air Cutter again!"

"Not this time," N remarked. He pointed at the hovering Pidove, making his square, golden bracelets jangle. "Zorua, finish it with Faint Attack!" His Zorua darted away, fading in and out of focus until right before Pidove was ready to attack. Then, Zorua jumped into the air and struck it with a sucker punch. The Pidove was knocked unconscious.

Petal shook her fist as she recalled her Pokémon. "Rats." Her humiliation colored her face almost as pink as her hair.

"I said attack!" Quentin told his Patrat exasperatedly. "Try it again, for Petal! Bite that Zorua!" he commanded, and the Patrat shook off its daze and charged at Zorua once more.

Touya and N glanced at each other, passing along a simple plan without words. They nodded in agreement, and then:

"Blitzle, use Flame Charge!"

"Zorua, another Faint Attack!"

The attack from both sides knocked the Patrat out instantly. Just as embarrassed as Petal, Quentin returned it to its Pokéball. "We weren't supposed to lose!" he complained to his partner in a pitiful voice.

"Oh, shut up," she told him. Glaring at N, she explained, "That only means you've gotten rid of us, Sire. It doesn't change what Ghetsis said."

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"Hmph." The two turned and fled, still smarting from their loss.

Touya watched them go proudly. His teamwork with N was actually pretty impressive. "Thanks, Blitzle! You can rest now," he told his Pokémon, calling it back into its Pokéball. Once he snapped it back on his belt, he turned to his battle partner. "That was awesome! We really showed them! But... why did they attack you? Aren't you one of them?" N hadn't told him specifically that he was a Team Plasma member, but it all added up that way. "They were even calling you 'My Lord'."

N crouched down to pick up his scratched Zorua. "If I was a part of Team Plasma, how would you feel?"

"Well, they don't seem like bad people. Except for that whole ganging up on you thing." He set his hand on the back of his head and was almost surprised that his hair was still damp. The battle had absorbed all of his attention. "Uh, listen. Do you know where the Pokémon center is? I'd really like to dry off..."

Zorua nuzzled N's arm affectionately, and the tender expression N gave it was startling to Touya. "Yes, I do. I'll lead you there."

The two of them easily found the Pokémon center together. N stood in line to get Zorua healed while Touya went in search of a towel and a set of dry clothes. It took a while, but he felt much better in the end. Once satisfied, he headed back to the front to find N again. The other trainer was, again, gone.

Touya's anger flared. "Damn it, of course you'd disappear again! I should've known!" he shouted, frustrated with himself for expecting otherwise.

"Please, calm down," the nurse behind the counter said sweetly. "Are you looking for the green-haired trainer you came in with? He left you this." She picked up a piece of paper and held it out to him.

"Oh, yes!" Eagerly, he took the paper from her and scanned it over. It was short, but got the point across.

_'Thank you for your help,'_ it read, in very simple handwriting. _'I'll see you again in Castelia City.'_

Castelia City, the next town ahead. Once he had Lenora's badge, he could follow N.

He spent the rest of the day training. In the morning, the first thing he did was challenge Nacrene Gym. Although still a tricky opponent, Lenora folded in the end and handed over the badge. He snapped it into his badge case and went on his way, his adrenaline still rushing from their battle.

_'I'll see you again in Castelia City.' _With Nacrene Gym's badge safely in his bag, Touya set off for Pinwheel Forest.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I had a ton of fun clarifying Cheren's role here. Do I have you super excited for Castelia yet? Eh? Eh?

I'd like to thank all of those who've reviewed this story~ Every one means so much. I would even love reviews in other languages! That would be sooo cool.

Playlist for Writing This Chapter:  
>Weird FishesArpeggi [Radiohead] (so perfect)  
>House of Cards [Radiohead]<br>Nacrene City Theme [Pokémon Black & White OST]  
>Scarlet [Rurutia]<p> 


	6. Chapter Five

**Twisting the Truth** - _Chapter Five_

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><p>Skyarrow Bridge was amazing. Touya started out walking up the slim walk bridge, looking out past the blue railing at the even bluer sea below. It spread out as far as he could see. Crossing the bridge, he could hear trucks rushing by under his feet, along the even wider bridge only vehicles could cross. He could smell the sea breeze. He looked up at the supporting stone towers, which were taller than he ever imagined, and felt very, very small. By the time he passed under the first set, he broke out into a run. Beyond all the support beams and streetlights, Castelia City waited, and he couldn't wait to get there.<p>

Castelia's skyline greeted him once he dashed by the second set of towers. Touya stopped, breathless, to take in the view. He'd only ever seen something like it on TV specials. Skyscrapers of all sizes jutted into the sky, competing to see who would pierce the clouds first. They seemed to cover the land ahead. A trio of girls passed him by, one saying how much more impressive the view was at night, but Touya struggled to wrap his mind around that. He couldn't picture a more amazing view than the one in front of him.

"Pretty cool, right?" said an enthusiastic, feminine voice. "It's even cooler when flying over it!"

Touya turned to see a smiling girl standing a few feet away on the bridge. She wasn't any taller than him, but he was pretty sure she was a few years older. She had tanned skin, and he could see a lot of it in her revealing outfit. The way she was dressed, she looked like she was planning to go skydiving in the desert.

"Sure," Touya replied, "But I've never gone flying over anything." He never needed to travel very far, and his family didn't have the money for plane travel anyway. He felt awkward about being randomly talked to, but tried not to show it. He was too far from home to not be friendly.

The girl gasped theatrically. "Then boy, are you missing out! When you're thousands of feet in the air, ahh... nothing can beat that feeling."

"Sounds kinda scary to me."

"Ahaha. You get used to it." She swatted away his remark like it was nothing. "I'm Skyla, by the way. What's your name?" Her long, magenta hair rippled when she walked toward him. Part of it looked like she pulled it through a tiny propeller.

"My name's Touya," he replied, wearing a smile of his own. Her energy was contagious. "Have you been to Castelia before?" He glanced out over the skyline again, wondering just how big the city could be.

Skyla nodded. "Plenty of times! Why? Do you want a tour?" she asked, setting her gloved hands on her hips.

Getting lost in the big city was the last thing he wanted to do. This city looked a lot more complicated than Nacrene, too. "A tour would be great," he told her.

"Then follow me, Touya!" she announced with a heartfelt salute. When she turned and started down the steep staircase at the end of Skyarrow Bridge, he followed, excited to visit Castelia City for the first time.

They passed through the gate to Castelia one after the other. At the other end, Touya stood at the foot of the skyscrapers he'd seen from the bridge. Some stretched so high that they didn't seem to end. Well-dressed people hurried along the sidewalk around them, more interested in getting to where they needed to be than the open-mouthed sightseer. A few of them bumped shoulders with him, but only one muttered "Sorry."

"This is Main Street," Skyla explained. "From here, you can find your way to just about anything."

"Is that the ocean?" Touya asked, pointing toward the pier to their left.

Grinning, she replied, "You bet!" He took that as a go-ahead to take off running. She chased him, shouting, "Hey, wait for your tour guide!"

Touya had already seen the ocean from the bridge, but it was a completely different experience up close. Even in Nuvema, he only had a limited view of it. In front of him now, all he could see was deep blue water. "It's really the ocean!"

She came up behind him, sounding more than a little amused by his reaction. "You don't travel much, do you?"

"No. I'm just starting out." He turned to her with a serious look. "I'm on my Pokémon journey, and I already have two badges."

"Oh?" she said, perking up. "Then you're here to take Gym Leader Burgh on?"

Touya set his hand on Pignite's Pokéball. "Yep. I'll show him what my Pokémon can do as soon as you show me the gym."

"Oookay, Eager Beaver," Skyla said playfully. "We'd better get moving, then! Come on!"

She directed him back out onto Main Street. She walked proudly, always a few paces ahead of him. The Pokémon center was first on her list of sights for him to see, and it was the biggest center he'd ever seen. Next was Castelia Street, which was packed with people. He almost lost her in the crowd, but she took his arm and pulled him along like it was the most natural thing to do.

"This is where a bunch of stiff-collars work, and so is this, and so is that..."

"So you don't like 'stiff-collars'?" Touya asked as they threaded their way through the people.

She smirked at his question. "Nope. I love the freedom of flying... and being a Gym Leader."

"Oh, okay." He peered up at an extra-tall gray building, wondering what the company needed so many rooms for. "...Wait. You're a Gym Leader?" The information finally clicked.

"Mmm-hmm! I'm Skyla of Mistralton Gym. Nice to meet you. Now, to Mode Street!"

Mode Street was slimmer than Castelia Street, but there were still plenty of pedestrians rushing by. Skyla pointed out a famous art gallery and a few colorful shops. One was an ice cream shop with a line snaking halfway up the street. He wondered if N was in line for a special Castelia cone, but no one there looked like him at all.

Back on Main Street, she gestured to the Battle Company. "Here, they come up with the latest battling gadgets and items and stuff. If you go inside, plenty of stiff-collars will battle you!"

Touya marked the location in his head. Another training ground would be helpful, especially for training his newest teammate: Petilil. "Sounds like fun!"

"Down there is where you can find the Royal Unova, and over here..."

Skyla moved on to show him a small café hidden down a back street and another pier with ships that went to "Who knows where." Up from the pier, they found the Pokémon gym. From the outside, it looked like it was covered in shifting Beautifly scales.

"Burgh's a nice guy," she explained. "He's just a little weird. And of course, he's no match for my flying types!"

The last stop on the tour was the central plaza. Touya saw more of the city ahead, but she insisted that there was nothing important. Surrounded by streetlights and scarlet trees, Touya felt more comfortable there in the plaza than anywhere else in the city. A large fountain rose and fell in the center, acting as a playground for the water Pokémon of workers on breaks, and street performers danced around it for anyone willing to look.

"So?" His tour guide watched him with eager blue eyes. "What do you think of Castelia? Is it as great as you imagined?"

Touya took a deep breath and tried to organize all the information he'd taken in. "It's... a really big city."

Skyla blinked at him, then started laughing. "It's the biggest in Unova for a reason! Now, I need to go say hi to a few friends of mine. Where should I drop you off? The gym?"

"No. How about the Battle Company instead?" A little more training would make getting the badge a cinch.

"You got it!" After another salute, she started back down Mode Street.

Back at the Battle Company, they stood in front of the sliding doors and said their good-byes. "Thanks for the tour. I'd be lost right now without you," he said with a toothy grin. "But I won't go easy on you when I get to Mistralton."

"Ha, I can't wait!" she replied, returning the smile. Se turned and waved over her shoulder. "See you later, Hot Stuff."

"Bye." He watched her disappear into the crowd before he turned to enter the building. The doors slid open, and the color drained from his face. "...'Hot Stuff'?"

Inside and up the elevator, he found his first opponent. A clerk got up from his paper-covered desk and challenged him the second their eyes met. Touya smirked and accepted the battle, calling out his new Petilil. His room was torn apart by his first-ever Pokémon battle - how would it feel to blow through floors of a company like a Tornadus?

"Petilil, use Magical Leaf!" he instructed. His Pokémon focused on the foe's Basculin, then whipped up an onslaught of colorful leaves.

After he finished battling his way through the Battle Company, Touya returned to the Pokémon center to heal his team. He kept his eyes peeled for any green-haired boy. Before he could find the one he was looking for, his Xtransceiver started ringing. Cheren was calling.

"Hey," Touya greeted his friend when his face appeared on the screen. "What's up?"

"Hang on. Bianca should answer soon."

The Xtransceiver's screen split in two, making room for Bianca's face. Behind Cheren he could see a tall building, but behind her was only a blue sky. "Hi, guys! Where are you?" she chirped.

"I'm outside the gym. I just won the Insect Badge," Cheren explained.

Touya felt a stab of envy. Cheren was ahead of him again. "You didn't call us to brag, did you?"

"No, I didn't. Are you both in Castelia City?"

Bianca smiled brightly. "Yep! I'm on the really big pier. I can see so much of the sea from here."

"I'm at the Pokémon center," Touya said as he walked out the door, right into the person walking in. "Oh, uh, sorry..."

Cheren's image glanced around him suspiciously. "Then come meet me on Gym Street. I think there's something going on over here."

"Okay! See you soon!" Bianca's side of the screen went dark, leaving only Cheren's behind.

"Me too," Touya added, and he hung up as well. He stepped back into the flow of pedestrians, hoping they'd move in the right direction. If he remembered his tour right, the gym was only a few streets away. He met Bianca by Mode Street and they continued on together, chatting animatedly about the sights they'd seen and the girl that gave him a tour.

They found Cheren tapping his foot impatiently across the street from Castelia Gym. They spotted each other at almost the same time, exchanging friendly grins. Even thought they were on separate journeys, they were always nearby. "What took you so long?" Cheren asked them.

"Have you noticed how big this place is?" Bianca replied, quirking an eyebrow.

"Why are we here, anyway?" Touya scanned the building behind Cheren. It didn't look like anything was going on there.

Cheren tilted his head at the neighboring building. "Not here," he said testily; "There." Next door did look a lot more suspicious. The entire skyscraper was a deep black color. It didn't only tower over people like the rest - it dominated them.

"Woah," Bianca breathed, eyes wide as a Cubchoo's. "That's a cool building! What about it?"

"Take a look." Cheren gestured for them to follow him and strode toward the building. "Just try not to look suspicious."

The three of them passed by the building in single-file, Bianca and Touya trying a little too hard to act natural. They could barely contain their curiosity when Cheren led them by the wide blue windows set into the forbidding black wall. Touya glanced beyond those windows, wondering what had Cheren all worked up.

Inside, he saw a gathering of at least a dozen Team Plasma members. They all looked very interested in whatever the person at the front of the room had to say. When he passed by another window, Touya could see exactly who that was: the "sage" from Accumula Town. The one with long, mint green hair just like N's.

"Team Plasma's here, too," Cheren explained once they were safely on the opposite side. "They've made that building into their hideout, I think."

"Are you really that surprised?" Touya asked, taking a seat on a sturdy wooden bench. He was, but he managed to keep it out of his voice. "They have flyers up everywhere. Someone had to put them up." He could see one of them now, taped on the nearest streetlight. _"Leave Pokémon Alone!" _this one read. He remembered another that claimed _"Pokémon Liberation Is the Fair Thing To Do!"_ All the flyers had Team Plasma's iconic shield on it. Graphic design was clearly not a problem anymore.

"But there're so many members here," Cheren insisted. He adjusted his glasses like he was trying to make a point. "They have to be plotting something."

Touya narrowed his eyes. "Have you ever thought that they might just be trying to help?"

"Help who, exactly?"

"Umm..." Bianca interrupted softly, eyes on her nervously wringing hands. Both of them turned to look at her, and Touya finally noticed how quiet she'd been. "Well, umm... earlier, a few of them tried to get me to release my Pokémon. I told them no, and then they tried to take my Munna away."

Touya scooted to the edge of the bench. "What? You mean, the Munna we saved at the Dreamyard?"

She smiled weakly. "I caught it after taking it to the Pokémon center. We're friends now, but Munny's still shy around people."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Cheren demanded. "What happened?"

"A few trainers helped chase them away. So Munny's still with me, but..."

Cheren gave Touya a smug look. "They are planning something. They're trying to steal Pokémon for themselves."

Touya avoided his eyes. He watched the people and cars rush by instead. "It was probably a misunderstanding. They're against Pokémon abuse, not for it."

"Are you calling Bianca a liar?"

"No!" Hurriedly, Touya got to his feet and faced his friends. "I only think that... they can't be all bad. That's all."

"You're... sympathizing with them?" Cheren asked, raising his voice. "You're sympathizing with Bianca's harassers?"

Bianca stepped between them and held out her arms, forming a 'T'. "Stop fighting!" she shouted, casting worried glances in both directions.

He was locked in a no-win situation, and Touya knew it. The only way to win was to get out of it. "I'm going to the gym," he told them, setting off across the street. "I'll meet up with you guys later."

"But... Team Plasma!" Cheren insisted. He wore an expression like denying his suspicions was denying their friendship.

"Have fun."

Not about to let him leave without a good word, Bianca offered, "Good luck, Touya! I'll be rooting for you!"

Touya paused in front of Castelia Gym and took a deep breath. Hopefully the challenge that awaited him would help him feel less tense. He felt confused again, but Pokémon battles were always straightforward. After an equally deep exhale, he entered the gym with Pignite's Pokéball gripped tightly in his hand.

_'I'll see you again in Castelia City.' _The words of the note played back in his mind. Where was N, anyway?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This isn't the most exciting chapter, but hey: the next one hits the first climax of this tale~ BE AFRAID.

Playlist for Writing This Chapter:

You Set Me Free [Michelle Branch] (Skyla's theeeme)

Castelia City Theme [Pokémon Black & White OST]

Company Calls [Death Cab For Cutie]


	7. Chapter Six

**Twisting the Truth** - _Chapter Six_

* * *

><p>The Insect Badge sparkled under the gym's outer lights, which had only gotten brighter since the sun went down. It looked just like a metal bug's wing. Touya grinned at it and tightened the hand that held it into a fist. He now had three badges, won fairly, with his own team's strength. So far, his journey was a success.<p>

He snapped the badge into his badge case and planned out what to do next in his head. Traveling to a new city in the dark didn't sound like a good idea, so he was stuck in Castelia for the night. As he wandered down the sidewalk toward Main Street, he didn't pay much attention to the people passing him by. It was a strange effect of the big city - there were so many faces that they all blurred together.

Under the bright streetlights, only one face caught his eye: the one he'd been looking for since he arrived. On the opposite side of the sidewalk, N was moving with the crowd, a Casteliacone in his hand and a Pidove on his shoulder.

Touya really should've expected this.

"You!" he shouted, pointing at N with an accusatory index finger. N noticed him and blinked; half the people around them turned to watch. "I've been looking for you! Why do you keep disappearing on me?"

N took a large bite out of the Casteliacone, looking as innocent as a Sewaddle. "It's nice to see you, too?" Whispers picked up in the crowd around them, but most of the bystanders chose to move along.

"No, it's not that nice!" Touya replied hotly. He also hadn't expected that seeing N would bring all the frustrations of Nacrene City back. "Whenever we meet, you find some way of sneaking off into the shadows, and it's annoying." He strode right up to him and jabbed him in the chest with his pointing finger.

"You don't like that?" N asked, watching Touya's attack with a puzzled expression.

"No, I don't." He looked up and met N's eyes defiantly.

What looked like remorse stared back at him. "...I'm sorry. I'm not used to dealing with... people." His "Pidove" eyed Touya suspiciously, ready to pounce if he attacked its trainer again.

The crowd dwindled into nothing, leaving the two of them as just a roadblock to move around. Touya lowered his hand reluctantly. N obviously wasn't the most sociable person he knew, but what did he mean by that? "Then stop it," he suggested. One glance over at the imposing black skyscraper inspired him to change the subject. "Why are you visiting Castelia? It can't be just for the ice cream." _Or just to meet me,_ he thought.

N held the last of his cone up for his "Pidove", and it was gone in an instant. "Pidove" chirped with satisfaction. "I have something to take care of," he said vaguely. As usual, he was great at giving the least information possible. "Do you want to come with me?"

Touya wondered if it had anything to do with Team Plasma. "Sure, if you give me a little more information about what that 'something' is."

Thoughtfully, N folded his arms, and his bracelets clinked together. "I was planning to stop by the plaza first, but it doesn't matter now. This way." He stepped into the line moving toward Main Street, leaving Touya to hurriedly jump in behind him. "I was told of a secret hidden away on an island near here. I'm going to investigate."

At the expense of a few angry glances from other pedestrians, Touya managed to move up beside N. "What kind of secret?" he asked, trying to clear his still cloudy answer.

N smiled mischievously. "A Pokémon," he explained as they passed under another amber streetlight, "Hidden in the basement of a lighthouse for 200 years."

"You're going to set it free?"

"That's the plan." N brightened, happy to be understood. "We only need to find the right boat to take us there."

The two crossed Main Street and continued down Liberty Pier. Royal blue Castelia City banners flapped in the wind over their heads. The temperature had dropped a lot since the warm afternoon, making Touya appreciate his reverse-zipped jacket. He wondered if N was bothered by the cold, but lost his chance to ask when his target struck up a halting conversation with a boat's captain.

After the promise of a 1000 Pokédollar payment, the man agreed to take them to the island N requested. It was a pretty large boat, at least to Touya, with a roomy gold-colored deck. He had some trouble climbing on because his legs started shaking. He knew he'd feel better once they started speeding across the water, but for now, he had to deal with being intimidated. N had no trouble at all, and neither did the captain.

The boat coasted away into the ocean. Touya leaned over the pearl white railing and watched the water swirl behind them, more and more stirred-up as they gained speed. Once he felt the wind against his back, his worries disappeared. "This is crazy!" he told N, who had his back to the railing a few feet away. "Going off to a secret island out on the sea at night... I've never done something this exciting before."

"It's going to be even more exciting when we get to Liberty Garden," N said loudly, working to be heard over the sounds of the rushing water. "There is a reason this Pokémon, Victini, hasn't been rescued yet. Even 200 years later, there are still a few guards on the island." His Zorua was back in normal form and energetically exploring the deck.

Castelia grew smaller and smaller behind them, and an even tinier piece of land appeared ahead. Touya spotted it first and felt a thrill of anticipation. This, he could help with. "My Petilil can put them right to sleep," he announced, plucking Petilil's Pokéball from his belt. "I just added it to my team in Pinwheel Forest." He released it onto the deck, and the bulb Pokémon peered up at him expectantly.

"Petilil? Don't you also have a Pansage?"

"I decided to release the Pansage," Touya replied, giving him a small smile. "It's living somewhere in the forest now." He wouldn't have even considered that an option before listening to Team Plasma and meeting N. Now, it seemed like the only thing to do while keeping his team balanced.

Petilil squeaked at N, as if reinforcing its trainer's story. In response, N gave Touya his brightest grin yet. "It'll be happy there. But Pokémon are always happy with you, too."

"I try to be the best trainer I can be for them." They were almost to their destination, but he decided to ask one more question. "N? About your Zorua."

N's lips twitched when his Zorua morphed into Petilil and started mimicking the other. "What about it?"

"Why is it usually a Pidove when you're in the city?"

"Because no one asks questions about a Pidove."

They arrived shortly at Liberty Garden. N hopped off the boat first, while Touya persuaded the captain to stick around until they returned. It only took another 500 Pokédollars to win him over. Then, Touya stepped down onto the worn boards of the dock himself. He could see all of the island by just taking a look around. Flowers washed with moonlight spread in all directions, more wild-looking than planned. Trees bordered the north end of the island where an old stone fountain sat, still gushing water toward the starry sky. At the island's center, a tall lighthouse built of white stone brooded in darkness. No ship would be guided by its beacon, and hadn't for a long time.

"This is what we'll do," N began quietly. "First, we have to carefully cross the garden to the lighthouse. At the front, a guard should be watching the door. You will ask your Petilil to put him to sleep." He nodded at Touya's Pokémon, which had followed his own off the boat. "With him out of the way, there should only be one guard left. We will enter the lighthouse, find the other guard and take care of him, or find the door to the basement where Victini waits. Whichever comes first."

Touya listened carefully to the plan and committed it to memory. Even Zorua and Petilil gave N their full attention. "Got it. I'll give it my all," he replied, eager to jump into action.

"Then let's get moving. Don't forget to be as silent as you can." N shifted his shadowed teal eyes to the lighthouse, then slowly led them all through the softly rustling flowers. Touya stayed close behind.

The lighthouse was elevated from the rest of the garden by a short but steep slope. A broad staircase made the trip up easier, but N stopped Touya from taking it. By peering over the ridge, Touya saw why. A blond man in a black uniform stood by the entrance, anxiously glancing at his watch. The first guard.

Touya crouched down beside Petilil. "You know what to do," he whispered, giving it a reassuring pat on its head. "Give him some sweet dreams with Sleep Powder." Petilil climbed into his arms and he hoisted it up and over his head, onto the pavement on the top of the slope.

Petilil approached the guard openly. There wasn't anything to hide behind. The guard lifted his eyes from his watch and smiled at it. "Hey, Little Cutie," he greeted, kneeling down to get closer to eye-level. "What are you doing here?" Petilil responded by scattering a cloud of aquamarine dust over his head. He coughed once, then slumped over on the discolored concrete.

"One down," Touya commented with a bright victory smile.

"And one to go," N added. Together, they climbed the short staircase and entered the lighthouse.

Inside, they found dark passageways lit only by dim lantern lights. They crept from one to the next, heading down past aged walls streaked with cracks. Touya's heart started beating frantically. Around any corner, they could run into the other guard or the ceiling could crash down on them. It was extremely exciting.

I can't believe Victini's been kept here so long," he whispered to N. The four of them - Touya, N, Zorua and Petilil - kept in a tight group close to the walls, so he could speak very softly and still be heard. "It looks like it's ready to fall apart."

"No one's bothered to take care of the building," N murmured with furrowed brows; "I doubt they've taken any better care of Victini." He ran his finger along one of the cracks snaking across the wall. He kept his voice relaxed, but Touya could see how tense his shoulders were.

They found the second guard at the bottom of the ramp to the deepest basement. His snores echoed off the high ceiling - he was asleep standing up. N observed him from around the corner for what seemed like several minutes, but only his charcoal mustache twitched. "This one won't notice us if we're quiet," N concluded, so Touya called Petilil back to its Pokéball. They continued on cautiously, three strong.

At the very end of the hallway they found a single wooden door. Overhead shined the last lantern light, giving it an abnormal glow. Touya tried his hand at opening it first, but even though the doorknob would turn, the door wouldn't budge. N gave it a try, even rammed his shoulder into it, but didn't have any more success than Touya did.

"It's probably all rusty and stuck from not being used," Touya said, reaching for his belt. "Maybe Pignite can help." He released Pignite in a zap of red light and pointed at the door. "Try using Arm Thrust," he instructed his Pokémon. Pignite struck the door twice with an open palm while Touya turned the knob, and finally the door creaked open.

Victini's room was normally lit and filled with a rainbow of faded colors. Toys were scattered on the floor, layered thickly with dust. The walls were the same cracked, smudged gray. Touya wrinkled his nose at the smell: stale and musty, like it wasn't well ventilated for the years the room had been closed off. There was something else, too. Something vague, something ugly but sweet, like rotten berries.

"...Why..." he heard N rasp, so Touya looked over at him curiously. N's face was drained and as white as his shirt. Behind his long green bangs, his eyes were wide with terror. He'd seen something Touya hadn't.

Touya reluctantly followed his line of sight, feeling dread tightly clench his chest. It was the tiny bed that he was staring at. On top of it, in the center of the faded green blanket, was...

"Oh my Arceus," Touya choked through his closing throat. He averted his eyes in a panic, desperate to make himself believe he'd never seen it at all.

It was the remains of Victini, dead as the lighthouse beacon.

Beside him, N began to shake violently. "H-How... How dare they..." he stammered, struggling to find his voice. It grew louder and louder as he spoke, until he was shouting at the top of his lungs. "They trapped it here... they left it alone. Victini may have been able to create limitless energy, but nothing else. Alone, for 200 years! This is the ultimate in Pokémon abuse!"

The sound of hurried footsteps coming toward them urged Touya to turn around. The basement guard sprinted into the area, blinking away the sleep they'd awakened him from. "You two! How did you get down here?"

Touya couldn't seem to speak. He was frozen in place. Unlike him, N found it easy to respond to the guard. He did it by laughing, long and hard, without a trace of happiness. "Hello! Have you come to see what you've been guarding all this time?" he asked, ignoring his Zorua, which was barking insistently at his feet. "Nothing! You've been 'protecting' an empty room!" His voice cracked mid-sentence, and his trembling returned.

The guard's expression twisted in confusion. As he ran toward the room, N ran out. Touya found the will to move at last and rushed to recall his puzzled Pignite. "Wait!" he shouted, taking off after N with his equally worried Zorua. They raced down the hallway, hearing the guard's anguished cursing behind them.

Touya burst out into Liberty Garden less than a minute later. He took a deep breath of the fresh night air and searched the area desperately for N. His eyes roamed over the sleeping first guard, the flowers, a black boat floating beside the second dock, and then found their target scrambling for the first dock like he was being chased by a Druddigon. "N!" he called, continuing the pursuit. Suddenly, N did stop, but Touya realized that it wasn't because of him the moment he and Zorua caught up.

By the old stone fountain surrounded by moonlit flowers, a tall man in flowing violet robes smiled grimly. His long green hair, so similar to N's, curled back from his severe face and revealed one penetrating red eye. It was Team Plasma's sage.

"My Lord," he addressed N, holding his gaze effortlessly. "You've already entered the lighthouse. What did you see?"

"Ghetsis," N breathed, stepping closer as if drawn by a powerful magnet. "The Victini... the Victini is dead. The rich pigs that own this island killed it..." He glanced down at his Zorua, now scratching at his leg, but didn't move to pick it up.

The sage, Ghetsis, shook his head in disappointment. "We should have known. Humans are cruel to Pokémon, N; you know that. As long as they are in control, these tragedies will continue to occur."

"But why?" N demanded, rolling his shaking hands into fists. "This isn't how it's supposed to be!"

Touya bit his lip. He felt like his head and heart had been turned upside down, but N was taking the discovery a lot worse than he was. "Hey, N - "

Ghetsis cut him off with a haughty stare, as if he was just an annoying bug Pokémon that had no place worming into their conversation. "You must return to the castle, Sire," he told N calmly. "You have traveled long enough. Within your room, you won't have to see these injustices any longer. You will be safe."

N went quiet for a while, thinking it over. Touya wanted to say something, to tell him to ignore Ghetsis, but N spoke up before he could. "...No, I can't stop yet. I have to see everything. Even things like this."

The dark smile disappeared from Ghetsis's lips. His gaze hardened. "Your rightful place is the throne in the castle. You have seen enough. This is your duty, as Team Plasma's King."

"'King'?" Touya gasped, turning to N with a look of disbelief. "You're the leader of Team Plasma?" He had known that N was related to the group, but he never imagined it went this far.

N met his eyes indecisively, but continued to speak only to Ghetsis. He reinforced his voice with a strength Touya didn't know he had. "When you released me, you told me to see how selfish people are. You told me to work on my own to find the legendary white dragon, Reshiram. I haven't broken my promises, so I won't return."

The blood red eye flashed dangerously. "I know what is best for you, even more than you do. If you continue to see how gray the world can be, you will regret it."

Propelled by his frustration, N rushed toward Ghetsis. "But Father - "

Ghetsis's hand struck his face with a horrible thud. "How dare you call me that!" he roared as N's body slammed on the ground. "If you choose to stay here and defy me, fine! I can't guarantee that you won't witness tragedies far worse than this!" And he turned with a swish of his violet robes and strode away, leaving N, mortified, with his cheek cradled in his hand.

The Zorua's yipping cut through the sudden silence. It chased Ghetsis for a short distance, crying out against the brutal attack. After about 15 feet, it dashed back to N's side and yipped again, more pitifully this time. N didn't move, only continued to sit there wordlessly on the grass.

Touya was dazed. The Victini they planned to save was already dead. N was king of Team Plasma. Sage Ghetsis was N's father. He'd witnessed that father strike down his son right in front of his eyes, a painfully familiar scene, while Touya was treated like he wasn't even there. Emotions welled up inside him so quickly that he thought he was going to burst.

He shuffled through the flowers and paused when he stood beside N. Slowly, he crouched down and tried to meet the other boy's gaze, but N's eyes were glazed over; he wasn't looking at anything at all. For a moment, Touya stayed still and listened to the murmuring of the fountain behind them and the flowers rustling all around. Then, he leaned forward onto his knees and wrapped his arms around N, pulling him into an awkward, one-sided hug.

Under his embrace, N was motionless. His back was warm and broader than Touya was used to - Bianca, Cheren and his mother all had narrow shoulders. His curls were soft against his fingers. "...He's never hit me before," N said vacantly. "Never..."

"That wasn't right, first time or not... It's never right. I'm sorry." Touya closed his eyes and exhaled softly. "Don't disappear on me again, okay?" he asked him. "Let me come with you. I'll join Team Plasma and help out. Just don't... don't disappear again."

From a distance, he heard the black boat speeding away from the second dock. It was his only answer at first.

"...All right," N agreed eventually. "I won't."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I had a lot of fun with this~ For those who have not been to Liberty Garden, this is NOT what happens. Don't worry. xD

You should all check out the last song on the playlist, "All You Wanted". It's pretty much the theme song for this story, finally revealed.

Playlist for Writing This Chapter:

Twisted Logic [Coldplay]

Auteui [teng]

Trepidation [999 OST]

Alpha Male [Röyksopp]

All You Wanted [Michelle Branch]


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